Blood Wedding Journal #2: The effect of the setting

The play Blood Wedding is set in Andalusia, which is an autonomous community of Spain. The stories that were set in Andalusia were often uncompromising in their exposure of terrible truths and powerful passions. This aspect and influence of the setting is seen when the bride is discussing her wedding with the maid.

MAID: Child, you're asking for trouble, throwing your crown on the floor! Lift up that head. Don't you want to get married? Say so. You can still change your mind.

(The BRIDE stands up)

BRIDE: They are dark clouds-an ill wind inside me. (41)

This shows how the culture that takes place in Andalusia can influence Lorca's play because the Bride is definitely having second thoughts in regards to her wedding. This idea of dark clouds being inside her gives off an ominous tone that what she is expected to do is interfering with what she actually wants. Another aspect of the setting that influences the story is the fact that the characters' celebrations include music and dance. This also helps to emphasize the BRIDE's hesitance to marry BRIDEGROOM because she says "I want to lie down awhile" (72) instead of joining the dancing going on. By not wanting to be a part of the culture's form of celebration, it again shows how the BRIDE is challenging what is expected of her because she is not only not participating in the festivities, she is also forced to reassess what she wants, even though it may contrast with the society's. There is also a sense of sacrifice that is influenced from the setting seen in the story. This sense of sacrifice is seen when the MOTHER says, "Can anyone bring me back your father? Or your brother? And then there is prison. What is a prison? People eat there, they smoke there, they play their music there. My dead ones, covered with weeds, silent, turned to dust. Two men who were like two geraniums! The killers, in prison, alive and well, gazing at the mountains" (7). The MOTHER is very passionate in expressing the sacrifice of losing her husband and son she had to make. The setting helps to influence the MOTHER's story because it highlights the hardships not only in the play, but also in life in general. She is very angry about the fact that even though the murderers may be in prison, they are still living and breathing and can still appreciate the beautiful parts of life, when her family members are dead, and are never coming back. By using this aspect of the setting, Lorca can reveal how this is something that could happen to anyone as well. It is evident how the setting of Andalusia has greatly influenced the plot of Blood Wedding, because it can also highlight how the emotions the characters feel are emotions that humans also often face.

Blood Wedding Journal #1: Stylistic techniques

There is a definite nature motif seen within the first act of Blood Wedding. The author uses this nature motif to reveal how nature is a representation of the pleasant aspects of life, like people coming together and not being separated. When the father says, "I'm only sorry that our lands-you understand?-are separated. I like everything to be together. There's one thorn in my heart, and it's that little orchard stuck right in the middle of my property. They won't sell it to me for all the gold in the world" (30), it shows the importance of not neglecting the things most important to a person in life. Gold is something that is extremely valuable and he refers to it in regards to the land, which shows that he not only takes pride in his orchards, but also in his family and the affection he has for them. This also explains why it is so important that his daughter get married and have children. He places emphasis on the positives of being together in a relationships through the motif of nature and connecting two people's lands together and he does not want that to be any different for his daughter. Although there are positives to life, such as relationships, that are highlighted through nature, there are also negatives brought up as well. When Leonardo's mother-in-law is rocking the child, she says, "Go to sleep, my rose- The horse begins to cry. His wounded hooves, His frozen mane, And in his eyes A silver dagger. They went to the river, Down to the river! The blood was flowing Stronger than the water" (17-18). This reveals the sometimes negative aspects of life that a person must face. Because water is such an essential part of life, and blood often can represent decay and hardships, what the mother says here really reveals how they both are incorporated in one's life. The horse in this quote is drawn away from the vital parts of life and has been physically and emotionally harmed. By expressing that the blood was stronger than the water, it reveals that the difficulties in life often overpower the precious aspects of life because something that is used as a symbol of pain has more force than the replenishing factors of one's existence. It is clear that the motif of nature can be used to represent both the positive and negative features in a person's life.

Oedipus Journal 3: Stylistic Techniques

Throughout Oedipus, it has been apparent that there is a constant occurrence of this idea of light. This motif of light helps highlight how the characters don't have complete control over themselves. This is especially highlighted when the Chorus says, "But now for all your power Time, all seeing Time has dragged you to the light, judged your marriage monstrous from the start" (1340-1342). This quote reveals how once something is brought into the light, it's as if it is out of the person's control because judging is something that is always existent. When one judges another person or thing, the initial owner loses the ability to completely determine his/her own opinions or decisions regarding that and this fact is especially illuminated when it is brought into the light. Another example of this is shown when the messenger says, "what a heavy weight of sorrow you will shoulder...[...] I tell you neither the waters of the Danube nor the Nile can wash this palace clean. Such things it hides, it soon will bring to light-terrible things, and none done blindly now, all done with a will" (1353-1360). This idea of the hidden things coming into the light and being terrible shows how certain aspects of characters and their lives are uncontrollable. The reader connects the image of rivers, which are extremely powerful, with the light and it convinces him/her how much more forceful something can be over a human.

Oedipus Journal 1: Point of View/Characters

Oedipus the King is primarily told from Oedipus's point of view and it has not changed so far in the story. Oedipus is somewhat reliable but at times he is not because his emotions take over. It is seen how emotional Oedipus can be when he says, "Now you have me to fight for you, you'll see: I am the land's avenger by all rights [...] Whoever killed the king may decide to kill me too, with the same violent hand--by avenging Laius I defend myself" (153-159). He gets very involved in Laius's death and is willing to make sacrifices to solve the current problem that he and the town are facing. He is not completely reliable at this point because of the feelings he is experiencing of needing to solve the unknown factors regarding Laius's death. The reader can really see Oedipus's take-charge and sometimes arrogant personality shine through when he says, "Oh dear gods, my curse on those who disobey these orders! Let no crops grow out of the earth for them--shrivel their women, kill their sons, burn them to nothing in this plague" (307-310). The reader gets to know Oedipus pretty well through this because it reveals his passionate personality and reveals that he does not want anyone to take advantage of him. The reader can get to know the character Tiresias and his provocative ways because of the fact that once he is angered by Oedipus, he hints at the knowledge of Laius's death that Oedipus wishes he had. The characters are more credible before they get angry with each other because after Oedipus and Tiresias start provoking each other, their upset emotions take over and it is difficult to say whether or not what they say is completely true. The characters are presented in a way that shows that their lifestyle and belief in the Gods affects their personalities and characteristics. When Creon says, "I will tell you what I heard from the God. Apollo commands us--he was quite clear--'Drive the corruption from the land, don't harbor it any longer, past all cure, don't nurse it in your soil--root it out!' " (107-111). This reveals the characters' dedication to the Gods and it shows that they are presented in a way where their actions are a direct result of what they think the Gods would want them to do. The writer can persuade us to like some characters and dislike others because he initially creates a character who has a mighty quality about him, like Oedipus, then brings in another character that provokes that mighty character, like Tiresias, and the reader doesn't want to see this character being taken advantage of. The reader reacts with the first impressions of the characters he/she is given.